The Geopolitical Multiverse Is Back to Two Superpowers
China’s rise and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have put a stop to a multipolar world order.
The body language of bipolar disorder.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
If American intelligence is right and China really is about to arm Russia in its genocidal war against Ukraine, we may be entering a new era in international relations. An even more dangerous one? That remains to be seen.
In effect, Chinese military support for Russia would finally turn the Ukrainian conflict into a proxy war between two hostile blocs, with a third trying to stay out of the fray. The US, the European Union and the geopolitical “West” — from Canada to Japan and Australia — would be supplying Kyiv. China, Iran, North Korea, Belarus and a few other rogues — let’s call them the “East” — would be helping Moscow.